I've Reclaimed the Use of My Imagination
by Grey Kindle
Summary: When Sarah becomes a cancer victim, she'll fight against it with everything she has. But when a certain Goblin King shows up again, he complicates things. Like always. And then a possibility arises that it might not be cancer! Cray. J/S. Story is better. FINISHED.
1. Chapter 1: An Old Friend Shows Up

_**A/N: Hey all. Not abandoning Out of Nowhere, but I needed a break desperately. I managed to spit this out despite the writer's block that's been clinging to my foot like an annoying small child for the past two months. Should be short, maybe a three-shot? Who knows…I'm on my next-to-last week of school, so hopefully the next chapter will be relatively soon. Please give it a chance, people. I think it's better than Out of Nowhere already, but then again, I'm extremely hard on myself when it comes to writing. Reviews could potentially boost my self-esteem… *smiles huge Demi Lovato smile in an attempt to look innocent and adorable, but only succeeding in looking slightly insane***_

Sarah stared at the doctor. "What…what did you just say?"

Dr. Clash shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sarah. The cancer has reached your vital organs far more quickly than we expected. Right now it looks like you've got around a week or two to live."

Sarah stared at the ugly pale pink floor tiles. The doctor was saying something else. "I've honestly never seen a case like this before; it's incredible. We can't do anything more…so sorry…as comfortable as possible…"

Sarah stood up slowly and walked out. She drove home in a trance, eyes glazed over. A week.

A week.

Was that all?

Finding herself in front of her apartment door at long last, but not remembering walking up the stairs, Sarah let herself in.

"I'm home!," she called. Not expecting an answer.

No one wanted to marry a 20-year-old with her head in the clouds. Faerie tales, were, after all, for children. Right?

Sarah gave in to the shock and collapsed on the couch, accepting the fact that she was not going to cry. Not now, not ever. She would go down the heroine, brave to the end. One of the symptoms of her cancer, which no one else had been particularly familiar with, was weakness. Sarah hated feeling weak. She would have bouts of dizziness at the most inopportune times, and sometimes would pass out in the middle of the kitchen.

Sarah wasn't upset about dying. Which was rather peculiar. She was, rather, extremely disappointed in herself. She had finished high school, moved into her own place in London, finished college with a degree in Creative Writing. She was a writer. Three published novels already, all of them bestselling. With hopefully many more to come.

But nothing decidedly extraordinary had been accomplished with the sparse time she had been given here. Of course, it's easy to feel that way when you've had an opportunity to become the Goblin Queen and you refused it…

…She pushed that thought away. Immediately. She was not going to live on the past.

She wouldn't have time to arrange a trip to America to say a real goodbye to her family, and didn't think she could bear telling them over the phone. So she got out some nice stationary and wrote a very long letter to each: her dad, Irene, and Toby. She hadn't been particularly close with any of them. She did love them, but after the move they spoke less and less until it wasn't necessary to phone every hour. Or every day. Or, eventually, every week…

She paused in her thoughts. What would it have been like if she had…stayed with…_him_? The only large regret in Sarah's life was not listening to him that day, begging her to stay, offering himself to her entirely…

And, in normal utter fifteen-year-old-idiocy, she shoved in back in his face and completely ignored him, steamrolling on with that accursed monologue.

She just HAD to have the chance to be the heroine, didn't she?

Sarah laughed outright at that. Here she was, barely twenty, and already looking back on her life's regrets. _Well_, she thought, _It's not entirely unreasonable. Apparently I only have about a week to do it now…_

She would like Jareth to know she was sorry. Incredibly sorry. _What's the worst that can happen?, _she thought. _He shows up and he hates my guts completely. Well, I'll apologize, and then get back to dying. It's the least I can do for him being so…so…generous. And if he loses his temper and tries to hurt me or something, then let him. I probably deserve it, and if I'm just running on practically borrowed time right now…_

"I wish I could talk to the Goblin King right now."

Nothing.

Sarah stood there for ten minutes and waited, but to her dismay, it didn't work.

She snorted.

"Fine then, Goblin King. You want me to say the words?," she shouted at the ceiling. "FINE! I WISH THE GOBLINS WOULD COME AND TAKE ME AWAY, RIGHT NOW!"

There was a _woosh _and a crack of thunder from outside. Sarah jumped. When had it started raining?

She knew the answer to that-_it hadn't._

And suddenly there he was, in a flash of gold, a blur of perfection, standing in her living room. One of his eyebrows raised in that usual mocking manner of his, dark cape swirling around his shoulders.

"I do believe my services have been called upon; you shall never see your sibling again. Give me the child."

Sarah snorted. "Has it been that long, Goblin King? You seriously don't recognize me?"

His eyes narrowed. "Who dares speak to-" the blood drained from his face as he caught a glimpse of the familiar long dark, the brilliant green eyes.

Those cruel eyes that had haunted his dreams for the past six years.

His eyes widened, disbelieving. "Sarah?" He quickly wiped his face blank of the surprise that overcame him. Why on earth would she call him? She knew the consequences of her actions. "Why have you called upon me? Very foolish, Sarah. You knew I was real, and yet you still were selfish enough for Tobias to make a second journey to my castle? Where is the lad, anyways?" His face suddenly took on a faintly amused, rather bored demeanor. "You haven't tried to hide him, have you?"

She rolled her eyes. Honestly, did he think her so stupid as to wish Toby away again? "Duh. I didn't wish Toby away. So that dramatic 'You shall never see your sibling again' crap pretty much isn't going to work this time."

He blinked. That could only mean…"Sarah, you…you have a…"

Now it was her turn to mask her surprise. "What?," she snapped. "No, I don't have a child! What are you, nuts? I'm only twenty!" She was planning on being nice to him, but he was making it so-damn-HARD. Of course. What had she been thinking? She should have expected no less from her irksome childhood nemesis.

He was looking rather put out. "Then what is it, Sarah dearest? Whom have you wished away this time?"

She took a breath. "Me, Goblin King. Are you happy? ME! Okay? I just wanted to talk to you, but oh, no, naturally you wouldn't answer unless I did the whole song-and-dance routine. So, now look where we are." She glared at him.

Jareth was completely taken aback. He hadn't expected another face-to-face encounter with Sarah. EVER. Because, as she reminded him, _he had no power over her_. He gritted his teeth.

She took his action as a sign of anger and became furious. "It was stupid, okay? I know that now! It was stupid to assume you'd ever want to see me again after what I did to you! I get it! I was a complete bitch! And I was spoiled, and selfish, and took everything for granted. But it's not like you didn't have you faults! You were a crazy, megalomaniac, arrogant, cross-dressing king who was trying to steal my brother! I was fifteen!"

He was acceptive of her speech until he heard the last bit, which clouded his judgment considerably. Jareth took a step towards her so that they were almost touching. "You _dare_-"

"Yes, I bloody well dare to insult you, you jerk. And I've been living in regret for the past SIX YEARS, hoping SOMEHOW I could see you again and talk to you without being laughed at!" Her voice was shrill. "Well, I guess I was wrong, wasn't-"

Darkness began to swim in front of Sarah's vision and she was suddenly overcome with dizziness. _No, no, not now! _She pleaded with her cancer. _I can't look weak in front of him! _"Wasn't…" but try as she might, she couldn't finish her sentence. Her thoughts ran together and she could faintly hear a startled Jareth calling her name, but she sank to the ground, succumbing to the black void.

/

When Sarah came to, she was laying in the same spot where she had been when she collapsed. She attempted to sit up, only to moan in pain. Her head was killing her. Hands encased in black leather pushed her gently back down and her head somehow rested on a pillow. _A pillow? How did…oh, right. Magic. Magi- Magic! No! Danger! Danger! _

Her eyes flew open as she struggled to tear away the hands resting innocently above her breasts on her collarbone, preventing her from getting up. She was met with mismatched eyes, and everything came flooding back. She sighed. Not really the first impression she wanted the Goblin King to have of the new, strong, mature Sarah.

"How long?," she grumbled.

Jareth seemed to understand her question. "Only for a few minutes. You say that like you are… used to these occurring?"

Sarah winced. Oh, she didn't want to tell him about the cancer. It would probably make him feel sorry for her, and that was the last thing she wanted, another person feeling sorry for poor old pitiful dying Sarah Williams.

"Are you all right, then?"

Sarah nodded.

"Good. Then we must be on our way."

"On our…oh." The castle. Right. She had wished herself away.

She got up, but lost her balance on trembling legs and would have fallen down again if Jareth hadn't caught her. Strong hands encased in smooth-as-butter leather held her gently but firmly by the arms.

With a sigh, Jareth lifted her up and slung her into his arms as if she were a doll. Immediately she stiffened and began to struggle. "Hey! Don't-I-put me down!"

He rolled his eyes at her protest. "Obviously, you are currently incapable of supporting yourself. I'm not going to press you for answers right now, but understand that I will eventually get them and if you fight me on everything be rest assured it will be sooner rather than later."

She lay stiff against his chest. "I hate you," came the mutter from a disgruntled Sarah.

He chuckled. "She says to the one who had his kingdom near destroyed by an obnoxious adolescent girl."

Her eyes shot to his. "I already said I was sorr-"

"I was teasing you, Sarah. You needn't worry yourself, the damage is now fixed and you were young. Of course I was angry at the time, but-" he shrugged. "You can't expect me to hold a grudge for six years. It would certainly get awfully boring to be angst-ridden and revenge-driven for that long."

Sarah scoffed. "Leave it to you to have that frame of mind."

And then they disappeared, leaving no trace behind but a scattering of golden glitter.

_**A/N: Mmmm? Anyone out there? *voice echoes* Ah well…reviews please! They're my fuel to write faster! Also I will personally fly to your house and deliver you a kitten if you review. Okay, I was lying, I am not going to do that, but you should review anyway. Until next time, my lovelies! *cackle***_


	2. Chapter 2: Return of the Goblin King

_**A/N: Sorry this took a while. Wait It Out by Imogen Heap. Listen. At least one whole time through. It's beautiful and my inspiration.**_

**Chapter Dos: Return of the (GOBLIN) King**

Sarah glared at the ceiling. It was white. The walls of the room were a deep aqua color. The bed had a white Victorian frame and had silvery bedding on it, nicely setting off the aqua. There was no other furniture in the room other than a small white vanity with a mirror and chair and a white wardrobe whose doors remained locked. The room also had no doors, excluding one that went into a bathroom. A grand bathroom none the less, with modern plumbing and a huge bathtub the size of a typical Marriott hotel pool.

Sarah knew every detail of this room because she had been left by Jareth here over two hours ago and had spent the time unsuccessfully trying to search for a way out.

_When Sarah opened her eyes, they had arrived in a medium-sized bedroom. She knew immediately it wasn't Jareth's, it wasn't his style in the least. Or what she imagined to be his style, anyway. _

_She looked suspiciously at Jareth, who was still holding her. "Where are we?"_

_He raised an eyebrow. "Your chambers. You will stay here until dinner time, I have to attend to my duties. We will talk more at dinner and are by no means through with this disscussion." And, dropping her to sit on the bed, he abruptly vanished, leaving a small pile of glitter. _

"_Wait! What am I-" Sarah shook her head. "Of all the arrogant, rude…"_

_She mumbled more to herself while exploring her room, failing to find anything of interest. _

She sighed, yanking her head back to the present. "I wonder what time dinner it," she murmured to herself. "I wonder if it's just going to be me and him. Oh, what if it's formal? But then again, he always looks formal. Ohhhhh, why did I have to make the wish in these clothes?" She looked down at her dark jeans and thin black "FRODO LIVES" t-shirt.

She hadn't finished her sentence when there was a slight _poof _and a small spurt of golden glitter on the bedspread. Curiously she looked around, half-expecting to see a Goblin King lurking about behind her, but saw no one. She warily approached the bed from behind the headboard, looking around it to see…

A dress!

A dress?

It was a deep blue color, not navy, but the beautiful color the sky shines just after sunset, when it's peppered with silver stars. The bodice looked to be fitted, made to outline her deep curves that had matured with age. It laced up with silver ribbon in the front, and below the hips it swished out into a full skirt. Sarah reached out and brushed her hand against it. The fabric, though unknown, was the softest she had ever felt.

She cautiously looked around again before edging closer. "Well," she reasoned to herself, "If this isn't for you to wear, what is it for?" So carefully slipping out of her jeans and t-shirt (she had gotten quite thin thanks to the cancer, so 'slipping' is very much what she did), she gently pulled the dress over her head.

It fit beautifully. Sarah pulled her over-abundant raven hair back into a loose braid that hung over one shoulder and glanced at her appearance in the mirror.

She was ready to face him.

_As ready as I'll ever be_, at least, she thought wryly. _I don't think I'll ever become accustomed to his tricks._

A knock sounded on the door at precisely that moment.

She swallowed. "Um…yes?"

Her door opened a bit hesitantly. A small goblin stood in the doorway. When he saw her, he puffed out his chest and announced, "Me here ta tell ya that you go ta kingy now for yum-yum! Kingy sent me hisself!"

Sarah tried not to laugh. "Did he? What an honor."

The goblin beamed. "Oh, Skoot knows! Kingy says if Skoot mess up, he'd be tossed in the bog!" He looked at her with big eyes. "Skoot not mess up, Lady?" His eyes widened even more.

Sarah rushed to comfort him. "Oh, of course you didn't, Skoot. You did a great job! But I have another one for you. Could you help me?"

Skoot's eyes were starting to look bigger than the moon. "Oh, yes! Anything for Lady!"

"Could you take me to where I'm supposed to be eating?"

The goblin grinned crookedly and skipped off, shouting over his shoulder, "Yes, yes, follow Skoot!"

Sarah shook her head, smiling at the adorableness of Skoot and his antics. She strode obediently down the hall behind the goblin, taking lots of twists and turns until they reached a large set of doors.

Skoot turned around and gave a small, clumsy bow, from which he almost toppled over. "We here! This is it, Lady! Have fun with Kingy!"

Sarah gently patted the goblin on the head. "Bye, Skoot, it was nice to meet you. Thank you for your help."

Skoot looked at her with wide eyes. "No one ever thank Skoot before! You nicest Lady Skoot's ever met! Make very good Queeny!"

Sarah froze. "Wh-what did you say?"

But Skoot had already pranced down the hallway and out of sight.

Sarah took a deep breath. "Okay," she said to herself. "Just forget it. He's a _goblin_. He didn't even understand what he was saying. Focus on more important things, like…" she breathed again and opened the doors.

She was met with a quiet dining room, with a long table in the center of it made for seating at least thirty people. Jareth sat at one end, and there was another place set to his left. Upon seeing Sarah, he got to his feet and bowed his head slightly. She stood, unsure of what to do, but finally settling on a small curtsey.

Jareth was beside himself. When she came through the door, looking every bit like some sort of vision from a dream, it took all he had not to take her into his arms and kiss her senseless right then and there. He was starting to realize that this girl-nay, _woman,_ now-was staring to re-awaken old feelings that he hadn't felt in years. Nearly six years, in fact. He had not realized how smitten he was with Sarah during her run through the Labyrinth until the end, by which time, even with pleading, he had been too late to change her mind.

_Other things, old chap, other things! _Jareth's mind raced trying to initiate conversation as the food was brought out. He cleared his throat. "Did that goblin behave himself properly?," he asked in a gruff voice.

"You mean Skoot? Oh, yes," Sarah said, amused. "He did his job quite wonderfully." She bowed her head and ate a small bite of meat.

Jareth waved his hand dismissively. "I wouldn't really have bogged him. I just said that to make sure he took the job seriously. You needn't worry for him."

"Oh." Sarah's eyes shifted and a small smile lifted her lips. "Well, that's good, I was starting to think you were some kind of heartless ruler, bogging innocent goblins at every turn."

Her teasing tone edged him on. "My dear, I _am _heatless," Jareth drawled. "Completely and utterly, in fact. I just don't take it out on the goblins. That would make me a simply _dreadfu_l ruler."

"Right. And we can't have that," Sarah smiled.

"Precisely. I have been the Goblin King for far too long to be rebelled against and overturned now."

That sparked Sarah's curiosity. "How long HAVE you been king?"

Jareth raised a pale eyebrow. "Do you really want to know the answer to that?"

Sarah nodded.

"Oh…a thousand years, give or take a few."

"A thousand! But how is that possible?"

"I am Fae, my dear. We are more or less immortal."

Sarah was taken aback. "So…you're going to live forever?"

"Unless iron enters my bloodstream, or I receive some sort of instantly fatal wound, then yes. I am not invincible. How long are humans living these days? A few hundred years ago they would only live to their mid-forties if they were lucky."

"Oh. Um…" Sarah was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this conversation. "I-" She looked down at her plate. "I don't know."

"Come now. You must have an idea of the average expectancy?" Jareth was studying his wine glass, not seeing her anxious expression or the tears slowly gathering in her eyes. "Fifty, eighty? Surely you do not have people into their hundreds yet."

Sarah felt a familiar heat behind her eyes and inwardly cursed. Was she crying? She hadn't cried in months, not since her close uncle's funeral. Sarah believed strongly in reserving her tears for others, and was not one to feel sorry for herself needlessly. On the whole, she was not an over-dramatic or -emotional person. She didn't like crying. It make her feel weak, like a damsel in distress. She was NOT a damsel in distress. She was a heroine.

"May I please retire to my room?" Sarah blurted out suddenly, unable to take any more of the conversation.

Jareth looked with mild interest at her plate (still not seeing her face) and said, "And what has you in such a rush? You've barely eaten anything."

"I'm not hungry," Sarah said fiercely, causing Jareth's eyes to snap up to hers just as a single tear slipped slowly down one cheek. His startled and concerned expression caused Sarah to push back her chair and stride quickly out before Jareth could make sense of what was happening and close the doors.

_Damn! What have I done now?, _he thought as he got up to go after her.

As soon as Sarah was out of his sight she broke into a run in the general direction of her rooms, letting a few tears slip out in the process. But without Skoot, she realized, she had no idea how to get back and no one to lead her. She looked around without stopping. _Every corridor looks the same_, she thought. _Where am I? _Soon she was panicked in addition to already being upset and worried, and her weak body couldn't take any more emotion piling up on it. She stopped slowly and leaned against the wall, next to a painting. She was too exhausted to look over and see what the artwork depicted, and soon found the world spinning around her as her vision went black again.

Her head hit the corner of the side-paneling on the wall as her body slumped onto the stone floor, and a pool of blood appeared slowly beneath her head, growing larger by the minute.

**_A/N: I actually had to split this chapter, can you believe it? Thought this was an acceptable stopping place. Do you like the nice cliffhanger? :D *dodges thrown pillow* Come on, a pillow? *dodges thrown jagged rock* Okay, okay, calm down, another chapter's on the way._**

**_Jareth: It better be, you foolish scribe. My Sarah is in peril and I cannot save her! Woe! Woe is the immortal soul when love is so angst-ified!_**

**_Grey: *rolls eyes* Shut it, Your Majesty. Patience is a virtue._**

**_Jareth: Indeed, but alas, not one I am equipped with._**

**_Grey: *mutters under her breath* Ain't THAT the truth…_**


	3. Chapter 3: An Unsually UnAnstified End

_**A/N: Soooo sorry about the late update, but hey- this is the end. : )**_

_**Yeah, I gave Jareth some pretty unrealistically amazing deductive powers of reasoning in the third paragraph, but come on. He's not an average mortal, remember? He's Fae. So I'm allowed to bestow upon him the power of lightning-quick thinking in order to move along with the story.**_

_**Disclaimer: Duh, I don't own it. If I did I wouldn't be writing fan fiction about it, I'd be doing something that could actually result in something productive happening. I do own some dark blue nail polish, Labyrinth on special anniversary edition DVD, **_**The Perks of Being a Wallflower **_**(an excellent book by the way) and a container of Altoids. That's pretty much it.**_

Jareth strode down the corridor and threw open the door to Sarah's room, self-consciously replacing the concern on his face with a menacing expression. He drew his cape around himself and boomed, "**Sarah, I demand you tell me what-"**

He cut himself off and blinked once, twice.

The room was empty. The bed made, as if she had never been there. Jareth rolled his eyes. It was just like Sarah to not touch anything in the entire room during the three hours he'd left her there for. Stubborn wench. He shook himself out of his thoughts. Why wasn't she here? She should be here. Where else would she go? Into the Labyrinth? No, she wouldn't dare, unless she wanted to run away. He thought about it. She wasn't thrilled to be here, but she knew the rules now and wouldn't do something so silly as go into the Labyrinth alone. And dinner went fairly well, except the last forty seconds. So running away was out. Well…wait. He had had a goblin show her to the dining room, because she wouldn't know the…of course! Dammit, she wouldn't know the way back to her own rooms, not by herself. Every hallway looked the same in his castle, it was part of its medieval charm, even if it was infuriating for people with bad navigation skills. She had probably gotten lost. Jareth blew out, scattering a few strands of blonde hair, and summoned a crystal. With a flamboyant twist of his wrist, he peered into its depths, searching the hallways for Sarah. He finally spotted her in the east wing. With a huff and a scattering of glitter, he vanished.

Reappearing near where he had seen Sarah, he rolled his eyes and turned the corner. "Really, Sa-" Jareth stopped dead as he saw her body thrown across the floor. He ran toward her and gently brushed some hair away from her face. It was very pale-too pale. His eyes roamed to the blood on the floor and he cursed. He picked Sarah up and cradled her for a moment, but there was no time to lose. He spun on his heel and instantly took them to the healer's chambers.

/

Sarah awoke to a pounding in her head. She moaned and massaged her temples, trying to banish the headache, when slender hands gently grasped her wrists. She froze when she heard a voice chide, "Darling, you'll make it worse. Lie still for a moment."

Sarah didn't dare moving, taking a leap of faith that Jareth knew what he was doing. She clenched her eyes at the pain. There was a sudden slight buzzing in her head, and the hum of a pure, concentrated power, and the pain vanished. She hesitantly opened her eyes and looked up in disbelief.

She was lying in the bed in her room, and Jareth was sitting in a chair pulled up next to her. He was smirking down at her, but something about the smirk looked…off. He was tired, Sarah realized. He had slight bags under his eyes, his hair was in worse disarray than normal, and his clothes were rumpled.

"What…"

"I don't think you're in any position to be asking the questions, Sarah," he said gently but firmly. He made her name a song. _Sarah. _She wondered if he had always said it like that. Or if she had just now noticed.

Jareth stood and moved next to the bed, looking down and straight into her eyes. "Sarah, this is your last chance. Tell me what is happening to you, or I will find out myself."

Sarah swallowed. "I…I have terminal cancer," she whispered, feeling embarrassed and ashamed to have such a _mortal _problem. She felt awkward and weak next to Jareth, who would never get cancer, never die. He would be beautiful forever. And she would die within a week. She had, Sarah realized with a jolt, fallen head over heels in love with a breathtakingly attractive immortal, and now she was going to die after an uneventful, meaningless life. She blinked as an odd kind of numbness took over her. She looked down at the blankets of her bed and stared into nothingness at the same time_. Why does it have to be drawn out? Why can't I just get it over with?_

"Sarah. _Sarah_. Can you hear me?" Jareth was touching her shoulder. She flinched away and looked up at him, eyes wide and filled with a glistening emptiness. "Jareth, if I ask you to do something for me, will you?" She held her breath.

"Of course," Jareth knit his brows. He was surprised by the news, although he now understood the signs. He felt a stabbing pain in his chest once the words left her mouth, but he couldn't for the life of him understand why. He couldn't…have to come to care for Sarah, had he? Surely not. She was beautiful, and he had had a fascination with her when she was running his Labyrinth, but he never fell in love with her.

Did he?

This small notion entered Jareth's mind and took him completely aback. Because as he sat there, and stared at a slightly pale Sarah, her hair a bit disheveled, her eyes wide and lifeless and….and…defeated…as she sat there, telling him she was going to die, he realized something.

_But what no one knew was that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl, and he had given her certain powers…_

Sarah had just finished saying something, that ended with "…can't take any more." Jareth blinked owlishly, looking down at her with sudden realization and confusion. "Sorry, Precious, what was that?"

Sarah looked up at him with those dull, but beautiful eyes, and said again, "Please, couldn't you just get it over with? I don't…I can't stay here with you for the last two days of my life, thinking about all my regre-" she broke off, with a bitter turn of her head. Not meeting his eyes, she finished, "I can't take any more of this waiting. Can't you just…"

Jareth's mouth fell open, and he shook his head. "No, Sarah, don't you understand? You have to remember. Look at me. Look at me!"

As Sarah's eyes rose to meet his own, he saw something he hadn't noticed before shining in them, bright as moonlight.

Love.

"Sarah," he murmured, taking her hand in his gloved ones. "Sarah. Sarah. _Sarah_. My Sarah. Don't you see? _I love you."_

The words were a fantasy, gliding over his tongue and dancing around Sarah in a cloud of words_. I love you. I love you._ They echoed, bouncing inside her head, wondrously, joyously. _I love you. _

_I love you. _

_I love you._

She stared up at him in awe. "I-" she whispered, with complete shock, total hopefulness, "_I love you too_."

And then Jareth's mouth was on hers, and it was a spine-tingling, toe-curling, beautiful kiss that made fireworks sear behind Sarah's eyelids, humongous bursts of mottled colors all weaving together, interlocking with each other, and then his soul was coming together with hers, and she could feel it, the warmth of his fingertips in her hair-

And then she pulled away.

Jareth growled, and moved forward to catch her perfect, perfect lips with his mouth again, only to have Sarah pull away. "Wait, wait, please," she said, her cheeks flushed, "I…what about…you know…my…." she trailed off in hopes of not having to say it again.

Two perfect blonde eyebrows rose to form arches that quickly disappeared into his hair. "Sarah. You know I love you- so much," Jareth moaned, "But- don't you remember the story?"

She stared blankly at him.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, then clasped her hands tightly and looked into her eyes. "What no one knew," he recited patiently, "Was that the Goblin King had fallen in love with the girl, and he had given her-"

"-Certain powers," Sarah finished, puzzled. She looked at him. "But what does that mean?"

The king looked at her, eyes glowing brightly. "You have powers, which you got from me originally, but they were made considerably stronger when you bested me- the Labyrinth's gift to you," he said knowingly. "However, they were magic powers, and therefore needed a magical environment to flourish properly. When you abruptly returned Above, the magic was cut off and the power is making its complaints known to you. It took several years for the lack of magic in your mind, heart, and soul to get strong enough for you to feel, but it happened eventually. And you started getting weaker, and more tired, and losing your appetite. If you hadn't come back here, you eventually would have faded to nothing and crumbled from existence. Not to mention that the overabundance of cold iron in the Aboveground probably contributed, or at least definitely didn't help matters. But now-" he smiled, absolutely _beamed_ at her, with such joy, and love, and adoration, she couldn't help but smile back- "Your powers will make you stronger, immortal if you stay long enough. And, Precious Thing-" he licked his lips and grinned mischievously- "I think you will be staying here for a very, very long time."

"How about forever?" Sarah suggested slyly, leaning closer to him teasingly.

"But, my dear," Jareth whispered, hovering just a touch above her lips, "That's not long enough at all."

_**End of story! Told you it would be short : ) Thanks to my reviewers, and the people who stuck with me even though I know this took a WHILE. QUITE a while. Sorry again :/ **_

_**Did you like it? Please tell me if you did! Drop me a P.M., or a review if you have any sympathy at all, because I'm having a pretty bad week, sadly. Make Grey feel better! YAY! **_


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